Does The Punisher Ever Show Up In ‘Marvel’s The Defenders’?

All eight episodes of Marvel’s The Defenders dropped on Netflix at 3 AM ET this morning, which means, yes, some us bold souls have actually binged our way through the whole thing already. If you’re a hardcore Punisher fan, you might be wondering if actor Jon Bernthal ever shows up to help out Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist take on the Hand (like he did at the end of Daredevil Season 2). After all, there was a huge amount of hype that he would show up and it would be a good teaser for the upcoming Marvel’s The Punisher series dropping later this year.

So…is the Punisher in Defenders?

***MAJOR SPOILERS FOR MARVEL’S THE DEFENDERS***

Technically, no. Sorry to disappoint, but we never ever see the Punisher pop up in Marvel’s The Defenders. There is a brief moment during a blackout when someone familiar calls Karen Page and for a moment I personally thought this would be Frank Castle checking up on his old friend…and thus getting the scoop that good old “Red” was in over his head with his ex-girlfriend again. Alas, that did not happen.

That said, his presence is felt in one very particular way. The entire post-credits scene is a teaser trailer for his upcoming solo show. Now, keep in mind, Netflix’s UI makes it tough to stay on the show’s final credits long enough to see this clip, but it’s there! Various rips of it are also making their way around the internet right now, though neither Marvel nor Netflix has yet to release an official version of the clip online. The trailer promises that the new series will delve into Frank Castle’s past with the military (complete with action footage that looks taken from a single shooter video game).